Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) is a highly influential charter school operator, whose leaders have the ears of many key policy makers in education.
The faculty of charter schools do not ordinarily belong to either the local AFT or NEA chapters, and of course, there are some exceptions, including charter schools created by local teachers unions. The absence of organized labor in the charter schools is one of the things that make them so very attractive to those who believe that the unions are the main problems with schools today. So, the emergence of organized labor in one of the most visible and important charter operators in the country make this a very, very interesting development. Liz Green at Gotham Schools put this in the “game changer” category. Liz is always right!
Knowledge is power, indeed. Apparently collective bargaining is power as well.
NY Times: Teachers at Two Charter Schools Plan to Join Union Despite Notion of Incompatibility
